Branka
} |name = Branka |image = Branka.jpg |px = 270px |title = Paragon |gender = Female |class = Warrior |specialization= |race = Dwarf |family = Oghren (husband) |location = Anvil of the Void |voice = Helen Wilson |appearances = Dragon Age: Origins }} Branka is the newest Paragon of the dwarves, by creating a smokeless coal which could burn in a cave without vents and no one would choke from it. However, two years before the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins, Branka took her entire House (save her then-husband Oghren) into the Deep Roads in the hopes of finding the Anvil of the Void. She has not been heard from since, and is presumed dead by most of the citizens of Orzammar. Involvement You may hear about Branka during the Dwarf Commoner Origin when overhearing some merchants chatting in the Commons. For a non-dwarf origin, you will first learn of Branka by either running into Oghren in Orzammar or by talking to Loilinar Ivo in the Diamond Quarter. Since she is a Paragon, her voice could be used to overrule the bickering Assembly and decide who will be crowned king; for this reason, both Prince Bhelen and Lord Harrowmont want to retrieve her to end the stalemate. Branka is encountered when you enter the Anvil of the Void, though her former lover Hespith is encountered well in advance in the Dead Trenches. Listening to Hespith's poem and conversation reveals disturbing insights into the ordeal the dwarves of Branka's house suffered at darkspawn hands during their time in the Deep Roads, as well as offering clues to Branka's behaviour since beginning her quest for the Anvil. Her obsession with the Anvil of the Void has consumed her utterly; there is nothing in her life but its acquisition. Once the Warden encounters Branka, she traps you in with her, informing you that the only way out is to run Caridin's gauntlet of traps which guards the Anvil. As you battle the darkspawn she offers chilling glimpses into her mind; among them, she reveals that she willingly sacrificed all her followers in testing Caridin's defenses. She also ignored those begging to be spared the darkspawn taint, even allowing Hespith and the other women to be corrupted into broodmothers, reasoning that doing so would provide her an endless stream of darkspawn to throw at the traps to either solve the puzzles or overwhelm the defenses with sheer numbers. If the Warden attempts to destroy the Anvil, Branka will attack the party. If the Anvil is preserved, Branka will stay to research it and will create Golems for the Warden to use in the Final Battle, but she can also be persuaded to see the suffering caused by using it, making her destroy the Anvil herself and commit suicide.}} Strategy If you decide to side with Caridin, Branka will attack you with 4 golems under her command. Branka is a weapon-and-shield warrior with high physical resistance and, as natural for a dwarf, magic resistance. The best way to defeat her is to first defeat her golems. If her health is less then half, she'll use lyrium veins to duplicate herself, so use them before she does. Quotes * "I don't care if the Assembly puts a drunken monkey on the throne." * "I am your Paragon." * "There it is. An ugly lump of hot metal to go over a couple of empty heads." * "Is this what our empire should look like? A crumbling tunnel, filled with darkspawn spume!? The Anvil will let us take back our glory!" Category:Characters Category:Dragon Age: Origins characters Category:Dwarves Category:Bosses Category:Nobles Category:Warriors